Wire bed-bottom fabric.



UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

Q ASSIUS H'. H ALSTEAD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, SSIGNOR TO CENTRALBED'DING COMPANY Y OF ILLINOIS,'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATICN OFILLINOIS WIRE BED-BOTTOM FABRIC.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 24; 1908.v

application med oaoter 12, 1907. serial N5. 397,165.-

" more particularly to that class of fabrics employe for the bottoms ofbeds, couches, and the like.

Considerations of economy manufac--l ture as well as s1mpl1c1ty andeiiclency in use have brought about a style of bed bottom fabric whereinare employed as elements of the structure a. plurality of bent wireunits or links of uniform size and forrn- (in some cases slightlymodified for connection to the usual helical springs) which units arearranged -in stra1ght longitudinal and transverse rows throughout thefabric, the longi tudinal rows or strands being connected lat-'- orallybysimple forms of' links that permit oftransverse flexibility in thefabric adapt.

ing the same to use for folding couches, as well as for convenience 1nshlpment or storas light' as possible consistently with the maximum reuired strength. The fabric should be flexlble or foldable bothVlongitu-V dinally and transversely, but without rela,-

tive displacement of the units or links' in vsuch folding operation. Thefabric should also be free from what is knownas-diagonal tension thatproduces an undesirable inward sagglng or bowing of the longitudinalmar- :ginal edges of the fabric. For economy of manufacture it is alsohighly desirable to employ a wire unit of such a form or character t atcontinuous lengths or chains of such units can be produced -on awire-forming machine', thus reducin the time and labor Arequired in theassembl1ng. of the fabric into :a bed bottom form.` f v To produce afabric -possessingthese and other desirable characteristics .is theobject of the present inventioniand the same will be readily understoodfrom the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings illustrating approved mechanical forms, and wherein',-y

Figure 1I is a planvview of a ortion of a bed bottom frame and a fabric,t e latter being broken outintermediate its ends.- Fig. 2 is an edgeview of Fig. l, `with the end bars of the frame shown in cross-section.Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a slightly modified form ofthe unit. Fig. l is anedge view of Fig. 3, with the end bars of the lframe appearing in cross-section.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates one of the longitudinal sidebars of the bed frame, and 11v and 12 the upper and lower end orcrossfbars, respectively, which bars are conveniently and cheaply formedof angle bars and secured by bolts 13 and nuts 111-. The cross-bars 11and 12 have their upstanding flanges apertured as shown at 15 for thereception of the end hooks of the usual series of helical springs 16 and17 through which the upper and lower ends of the fabric are commonlyunited with the upper and lower cross-bars of the frame, to furnish thedesired resiliency and elasticity.

-Referrin now to the fabric itself, in which the novell eatures of thepresent invention more particularly reside, this fabric is'made up ofaseries of parallel longitudinal strands each formed o f duplicate orsubstantially duplicate bent wire units connected end to end, inassociation with space-filling and 'connecting members that laterallyand flexibly uniteadjacent strands at intervals.

Referring first to the invention as illustrated in Figs. l and 2, anddescribing the form and construction of the' individual units of thefabric, it will be seen that these are each made from a single length ofwire of suitable gage, according to the load to be sustained, `whichwire is so bentas to forma 'pair of longitudinal limbs 18 constitutingthe main body-portion of the unit having Ahooks 19 at their free ends,and at the other sides of the loops, thereby producing sub-l stantiallyclosed loops with which lare engaged the hooked ends of cross-links 2 3that connect the adjacent longitudinal strands, whereby said cross-linksare prevented from slipping downwardly on the longitudinal limbs of theunits and thereby becoming displaced'from normalposition. In the case ofthe upper transverse row of units which are directly engaged with theupper row of helicals 16, I preferably form the upper end of the unitwith-a simple U-shaped end 2()a for direct engagement with the hook ofthe helical; but this special construction can be omitted, ifdesired,and the same form of unit vemployed throughout the fabricutilized byl connecting the helical onto either of the twin loops 2O orcarrying the hook horizontally beneath or above the rentrant member Q1.In the case of the lower transverse row of units, the hooks 19 at theirends are both directly engaged with the horizontally disl posed innerhooks of the lower row of helilcals 17.

Figs. 3 and L'show a slight modification in the formation of'the vupperend or head of but which loops lie wholly internally of the imit andbetween the longitudinal limbs A thereof, whereas in the constructionpreviously described the loops 20 proj ect` somewhat laterally of thelongitudinal limbs.

In both forms of the invention the longii tudinal limbs 18 and 18a ofthe units are straight non-extensible members'that directly I receiveand resist the strains imposed on the longitudinal strands by reason ofthe imposed load'when in service, as likewise the tension of the endhelicals. In both forms of the invention the twin longitudinal limbs ofeach unit are parallel or approximately so, and the strain is dividedequally between them. By causing the rentrant members to lie wholly inthe plane of the longitudinal limbs, the most perfect and eiicientclosure of the loops is secured with a minimum length of wire. The unitsare capable of being turned out in continuous cham form by a suitablewire-forming machine, thus reducing the labor of assembling the fabricon a bed bottom to the selection of the proper lengths of longitudinalstrands, their connection to the end helicals, and the application ofthe cross-links. The fabricfas a whole presents a smooth and uniformupper sur` face free from hooks, knots, or other projections liable toinjure the mattress, and is flexible so as to be capable of being foldedboth longitudinally and transversely.

.By the terms rentrant members reentrant portion and rentrant bend asused herein, I mean portions of the wire unit extending inwardly fromthe extreme end of the latter and lying wholly in the plane of theunit'.

I claim:

1. A bent-wire unit for a bed-bottom fabric, comprising two longitudinallimbs provided at one end with'hooks and at the other end with twosubstantiallyfclosed crosslink loops formed and separated from eachother by a rentrant bend in the center of the continuous wire of whichthe two limbsv hooks of the next adjacent unit, together,

with cross-links connecting the said lines of units at intervals andengaging the aforesaid loops of the respective units. l

3. A bed-bottom fabric composed of bentwire links, each link having twolongitudinal limbs formed with hooks at one end and with substantiallyclosed lloops at the other end.

formed by a rentrantbend in the wire` and separated by'a distancesubstantially equal to the width of the rentrant portionto gether withcross-links engaging' the aforesaid loops of two parallel units.4

CASSIUS I-I. IIALSTEAD.

Witnesses:

IV. H. IVEsTwooD, E. C. FowLER.

